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Monday, June 18, 2012

The 10 Worst Job Markets U.S. Grads Have Faced

You can do everything right from kindergarten. You can study, make good grades, get scholarships, get into a good college, and secure a great internship. Even with all that, there’s one crucial factor that’s completely beyond your control: what the job market will be like when you get your degree. Thousands of unemployed high achievers around the country are pulling their hair out and saying, “If only I’d been born at a different time.” Because misery loves company, we’ve identified nine other years where college grads had the misfortune of leaving campus at the worst possible time. (If you need a pick-me-up after reading this, check out the 10 best job markets U.S. grads have faced.)

1. 1933:

College graduates made up only about 4% of the population of the United States in the 1930s, as the economy was driven by unskilled labor that did not require degrees. Nevertheless, the students emerging into the work force then were faced with the highest unemployment rates in the country’s history. The crisis peaked in 1933 with fully one quarter of Americans out of work. (At the time, the calculation included workers age 14 and up.) That nearly makes 9% unemployment seem like a walk in the park, doesn’t it? Read more....